Sales Tax Calculator

Sales tax, VAT (value added tax) and GST (goods and services tax) all add a percentage to the price of what you buy. The sum is the same for all three, so this calculator works anywhere: enter the rate where you buy. Prices in the US usually leave the tax off until the till. In most VAT and GST countries the shelf price already includes it, so you use Remove tax to see how much tax is inside.

The formula

tax = price before tax × rate ÷ 100
price with tax = price before tax × (1 + rate ÷ 100)
price before tax = price with tax ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100)
tax inside a price = price with tax − price before tax
rate = (price with tax ÷ price before tax − 1) × 100
price from the tax = tax ÷ (rate ÷ 100)
stacked rate = state + county + city + special district

Worked example

A price of 100.00 at 8% tax (in any currency): the rate as a decimal is 8 ÷ 100 = 0.08, so the tax is 100.00 × 0.08 = 8.00 and the price with tax is 100.00 + 8.00 = 108.00. The tax is 8.00 ÷ 108.00 = 7.41% of what you pay.

Removing it again: 108.00 ÷ 1.08 = 100.00 before tax, and 108.00 − 100.00 = 8.00 of tax inside. Note that taking 8% off 108.00 gives 99.36, which is wrong: you have to divide by 1.08, not subtract 8%.

Finding the rate: if 100.00 became 108.25 at the till, the tax was 8.25 and the rate is 8.25 ÷ 100.00 × 100 = 8.25%.

Working back from the tax: if the receipt shows 8.00 of tax at 8%, the price before tax was 8.00 ÷ 0.08 = 100.00.

Stacked rates

In the US the rate you pay is often several taxes added together: a state rate plus county, city and special district rates. With an example of 6% state + 1% county + 1% city + 0% district, the combined rate is 8%, and on 100.00 the state gets 6.00, the county 1.00 and the city 1.00. These numbers are only an example — check your local rate, which can change from one street to the next. VAT and GST can stack too, such as India's CGST + SGST, so you can rename the parts.

Several items and exempt items

Three items at 19.99, one at 4.99 and one tax-free item at 10.00, at 7.25%: the items add up to 74.96, the taxed part is 59.97 + 4.99 = 64.96, and the tax is 64.96 × 0.0725 = 4.7096, which rounds to 4.71. The total is 74.96 + 4.71 = 79.67. Many places don't tax some groceries, medicines or services, so mark those items as not taxed.

Rounding per line or per bill

Tax is rounded to the cent (or penny, fils or paisa). Three items at 0.99 and 7.25%: each line's tax is 0.071775, which rounds to 0.07, so rounding each line gives 0.21. Rounding once on the whole bill gives 2.97 × 0.0725 = 0.215325, which rounds to 0.22. Shops and tax offices use one or the other, so the calculator shows both when they differ.

Discounts, shipping and tips

• Discount before tax: 10% off 100.00 at 8% leaves 90.00 to tax, so the tax is 7.20 and the total 97.20.
• Discount after tax: 10.00 off the 108.00 total gives 98.00, and the tax stays at 8.00. A percentage off before or after tax comes to the same total (97.20), but the tax differs.
• Shipping: 5.00 of shipping that is taxed adds 0.40 of tax (8.40 in all, total 113.40). If shipping is not taxed the total is 113.00. Whether shipping is taxed depends on where you are.
• Tip: a 20% tip on the 100.00 before tax is 20.00 (128.00 in all). On the 108.00 total it is 21.60 (129.60 in all). Tipping on the price before tax is common in the US.

Country calculators

For one country's own rates and rules, use the UK VAT calculator (20%, 5% and 0%), the UAE VAT calculator (5%) or the India GST calculator (CGST and SGST split).

This calculator has no built-in rates: tax rates and what is taxed (shipping, coupons, food, services) change and depend on your address, so enter the rate from your receipt or your local tax office. Results are rounded to two decimal places. Checked on 10 October 2026.